Respect the Distance

'08 W-League
Michigan Hawks vs. Chicago Gaels

One of the most difficult things for me to remember is that not everyone has been an athlete their entire life.  Not everyone has a tried and true re cooperation plan for a mildly sprained ankle and most definitely not everyone  has had time for trial and error to see what works best for their body!

I have been blessed with having had all sorts of opportunities to see what works best for my body in terms of fitness, resting, peaking, injury, motivation, and recovery.  The methods I have come up with are what work best for me - and they may not work at all for you or anyone else, but you need to find what you can enjoy, accomplish and commit to for your body.

Do you have a training plan?  How often do you train?  Do you have any home remedies to common injuries?

I recently confirmed a few more races on my schedule and it has got me and a few others itching for racing season to hit us!  I'll be setting my sights on the ATL 1/2 Marathon (3/20), the Augusta 70.3 Half-Ironman (9/25), and the Marine Corps Marathon (10/30) to round out the season.  3 new distances = 3 new PR's!

Rest at the Beach with your dog!
East Tawas, MI

With these distance events as well as all the smaller races filling out my season I am well aware of the risk of an overuse injury or over-training.  I will be listening to my body very closely this year and when it's screaming FATIGUE I will rest, re cooperate, and become re invigorated!

What are the highlights of your race calendar this year?





Common problems I see with those who are new to training include the following:

• Too Much, Too Soon:  Running, Cycling, Swimming etc.  too far or for too long without proper training.  The body needs time to adapt, work up to your goals don't just go out and try to run 13.1 miles on your first training run.  A good rule of thumb is to increase your mileage about 10% every week.
• Injured vs. Hurt vs. Sore?: You can play hurt, but you can't play injured.  If you are training hard you are going to be sore, your muscles will ache, you will have to dig deep and, yes, at times it will even hurt.  You need to know when it's an injury though - when it's time to pack it up at the first onset of symptoms, get ice, and figure out a cross-training plan. (A PT would be a great person to help you with this)
• SuperMan Syndrome:  During the build phase when fitness is improving and you are seeing the gains you are making it can be hard to take proper recovery time.  Days off and proper sleep are when the body actually gets stronger and you improve - so take proper time off!  Feeling like you can do anything and everything is good - but you will lose out to over training if you don't rest!
• Committing to a Training Plan:  It is hard to wake up at 5 or 6am every morning and get a training session in.  It's also hard to come home from work, lace up the shoes and run out the door.  You'll feel better if you do it - thanks to the endorphin hit!  Get rid of the night time chocolate/ice cream and take up a late afternoon/early evening work out!  Take the time to write out a training plan for yourself, your goals, and your dreams.  Stick to your training plan for 3 weeks and excellence will become habit.

Whatever your racing/training/fitness goals are this year Respect the Distance!  Give your body time to adapt to the demands you are putting on it to avoid an overuse injury or over-training.  70.3/26.2 miles is not an easily traveled smooth freeway - there will be bumps and turns along the way.  Listen to your body, rest when needed and train your mind to know what your body is capable of.

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and 
something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.” ~Lance Armstrong

R&R is HaRd

It has always been so easy for me to tell others to take a day off or to take a day of active rest.  But to tell myself that it's ok to rest, not a chance!  Ever since college, on my "off day" I would go easy by just running 10 120's or doing the 300m shuttle run test.  Not quite an off day but a much shorter day than any other spent getting fit.  Now my off day's are either spent playing 80 minutes of soccer or doing a "light" 5.5 mile run - through the National Zoo ( basically a hill workout).

I must admit I've been getting better at scheduling in and allowing the R&R to happen in my training schedule.  I saw the benefits a few years ago during summer workouts in college and have been mimicking the same idea of building and peaking both in a micro-cycle and macro-cycle.  Now that I am training for 3 sports - swimming, cycling, and running I struggle with the idea of taking a complete day off.  I'll think well I'll just swim - that's impact free or I'll just ride easy because I haven't been on the bike in a couple days.  I am allowing myself to cross-train on Friday mornings - using the elliptical and to take Monday evening off to have a relaxing evening with friends after being in class from 9am to 7pm.

What do you do on your days off?  What's your favorite way to Cross-train?

Last weekend was my big R&R weekend that I had scheduled into my training plan.  Naturally I pushed myself extra hard for the 5 days leading up to Thursday - what would be my first complete day off in 2011.  By Tuesday evening I was exhausted I had to pack, finish a presentation, and complete an assignment - as well as do a speed workout and hit the gym.  I listened to my body and took Tuesday afternoon off - and typed a nice FATIGUE into my training log.  I was filled with exercise guilt at first but let it go as I knew I was doing the right thing for my body.  Wednesday's workouts were awesome.  I killed my speed workout and hit the pool hard on Wednesday morning!  It felt great to feel fresh and re-invigorated by just allowing myself that afternoon off.

The real challenge came as I was in New Orleans Wednesday evening through Sunday morning.  This was the scheduled R&R time.  The time between switching my training from a base program to more of a build program.  Thursday was busy - the first day of conference and plenty of walking to and from the Convention Center as well as down Bourbon St.   Friday morning I was aching more a good sweat, so naturally I hit up the gym for 60:00 solid minutes on the elliptical.  The hotel gym was packed - so luckily I was forced to use the elliptical.  Time off could have easily turned into a long run had a snagged a treadmill.  Saturday was once again busy and filled with walking all over downtown and exploring.

Do you schedule R&R to over vacations or do you workout through your vacation time?

Taking time off is a fine and precise line between allowing my body to rest and recover and keeping my insanity.  Yes, occasionally I need a mental and physical break from training but exercise is my release and my go to - my daily constant.  Without some form of daily workout my entire temperament can change!

Now that I am back into the swing of things and training hard I am so grateful for the time off!  I have been feeling great when I go to workout and I know my body needs the rest time to repair and become stronger.  Without rest all this training would just be making me more tired and weaker.  One of my most cherished and simple types of rest is my nightly sleep - 8.5 hrs/night!  What a good chance for your body to re-cooperate and be stronger than it was the day before!

Do you struggle to actually take time off?  How much sleep do you get at night?


Why would you ever expect a hard workout to feel easy?  You must be willing to do something you've never done to achieve something you've never had.